Adriano Galliani did not stop to consult his rulebook this time around. Not two weeks have passed since the Milan vice-president wrote to Gazzetta dello Sport, citing point seven from Fifa's Laws of the Game as he insisted Juventus should no longer be described as "unbeaten" under Antonio Conte – as they had trailed the Rossoneri 2-1 on the night after 90 minutes of their Coppa Italia semi-final second leg. On Saturday such a specific reference was simply not required.

"The rules state that when the ball crosses the line, it is a goal," said a furious Galliani in the wake of his side's 1-1 draw away to Catania – a result which, coupled with Juventus's win over Napoli a night later, reduced Milan's lead at the top to two points. "That has not been the case for us this year." He, like many others associated with the club, was convinced that a second-half shot from Robinho had crossed the goalline before being cleared by Giovanni Marchese. Coming so soon after Sulley Muntari's infamous 'ghost goal' against Juve, it was all a little too much to bear.

Later that evening, a one-word statement would appear on the club's website. "UNACCEPTABLE!" read the text, accompanied by a heavily pixelated photo which appeared to suggest the ball had just about crossed the line. An image of Gianluigi Buffon clawing Muntari's header out of the goal was also reposted. If the aim had been to ram home the point then it might have failed – the latter image serving only to emphasise how much more marginal this weekend's decision had been.

The truth was that even after a multitude of slow-motion replays, nobody could say with 100% certainty whether Robinho's shot had gone in. From the sideline, the linesman Simone Ghiandai had no chance. Galliani subsequently let it be known that he planned to put forward a motion for Serie A to introduce extra officials behind the goalline – as used in European competition – but the reality is that in this instance there is no guarantee they would have made any difference.

Ghiandai did make further mistakes during the game – incorrectly judging Milan players to be offside on more than one occasion – but there was dispute, too, over whether a goal ruled out at the other end for Alejandro Gómez should have stood. The real shame was that once again the post-match conversations were about officiating. "We are resigned to this," wrote Sebastiano Vernazza in Gazzetta dello Sport. "For years now, or perhaps forever, certain matches have not been analysed on a technical/tactical level but instead subjected to autopsies."

While a nation's press was busy dissecting decisions and critiquing comments made by Galliani and the Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri on the subject of refereeing injustices, many outlets seemed to forget that there had been two teams involved in the match at all. The truth was that while another officiating crew might have awarded the goal to Robinho, Catania's performance had more than merited the draw.

Although Milan had started the game strongly – Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up Robinho for the opener after 34 minutes – and would finish it in similar fashion, there was a point in between when they were close to being overrun. As well as having his goal disallowed, Gómez would hit the bar in this period, while only a desperate lunge from Luca Antonini prevented Pablo Barrientos from equalising before Nicolás Spolli finally did so from close range.

Indeed, the lead stories on Sunday morning ought not to have been about one marginal decision but about a Catania side that was now unbeaten in eight games – their longest such run in the top flight since the 1961-62 season. In the two games prior to this one Catania had beaten third-placed Lazio at home before recovering from 2-0 down to draw away to fourth-placed Napoli. Only Milan and Juventus have taken more points since the season's midway point.

Their manager, Vincenzo Montella, has been one of the revelations of this Serie A campaign – ditched by Roma in the summer as the new owners sought a fresh start under Luis Enrique, and instead going on to steer Catania to the cusp of a European place. The Etnei's first-team wage bill is less than a quarter of the size of that belonging to his former club, yet after 30 games the gap between the two teams is just four points.

Not that there is any bitterness about Montella, who told Corriere dello Sport that "it would have been a mistake" for Roma to appoint him full-time – suggesting that such a pressured environment was no place for a young manager who would inevitably experience setbacks. Enrique has had plenty of those this season – but here too Montella has acknowledged that it is easier for the club to keep supporters off his back by presenting the Spaniard's appointment as part of a greater project that represented a dramatic break from the past.

But if further evidence of Montella's talent was required then one need look no further than the work he has done with the right-back Marco Motta – a naturally gifted athlete, but one whose inattentiveness had rendered him a liability for first Roma and then Juventus. For Catania he has become a key part of a back-line that has conceded just 10 goals at home all season (rather more on the road, admittedly) and which kept Milan in check for much of the afternoon.

At 37, Montella's future is plainly bright – with overeager reporters already linking him this week to potential summer vacancies at Napoli or even Lazio. He was not the youngest manager to win a game in Serie A this weekend, however, that honour going instead to the new man in charge at Internazionale – Andrea Stramaccioni.

It had been a wild eight days for Stramaccioni, beginning with his last game in charge of Inter's youth team – a victory on penalties over Ajax in the final of the NextGen Series – and concluding with his first game as manager of the senior side – a 5-4 victory over Genoa in a match featuring four spot-kicks and two red cards. Throw in a guest appearance from Mario Balotelli at Stramaccioni's first press conference as manager, and the club's anthem Pazza Inter (Crazy Inter) feels as fitting as ever.

"The president [Massimo Moratti] said he wanted to enjoy himself. Maybe that was a bit too much," quipped Stramaccioni at the end, and already he has shown himself a deft hand at dealing with the press, confident enough to make such jokes but also disarmingly honest when asked about the thrill of taking on such a role. "Emotions? Yes, strong ones," he told reporters at full-time. "San Siro is La Scala of football. I was emotional just hearing the public address shouting out the names of the players before the games."

It is hard to know what to make of such a game – one in which Inter became the first side ever to concede three penalties but still win in Serie A. After just four days in charge Stramaccioni could hardly have been expected to make significant inroads, so none should have been surprised to see the old frailties still on display as Inter repeatedly invited Genoa back into the match. But the reintroduction of Mauro Zárate was a success – the player scoring his first league goal for the club – and this was Inter's first home win since 22 January.

Stramaccioni also found time to hand the fit-at-last Fredy Guarín his debut for the club, the midfielder winning Inter's penalty, from which Diego Milito scored his team's fifth. "I told the players that it had taken six months to convince the youth team that they were the best – and in reality they probably weren't stronger than Ajax," said Stramaccioni when asked about his pre-game team-talk. "With you lot it should be easier because you really are the strongest."

That might be pushing it just a touch – if Inter are 20 points behind Milan it is about more than just poor management – but certainly this is a squad that ought to be higher up the table. With Lazio, Napoli and Udinese all losing, the optimists have once again set their sights on third. The more level-headed might note that Montella's reservations about Roma could just as easily be applied to a club which has already changed manager five times in two years.

Giorgio Chinaglia, 1947-2012

Before we get into the rest of the weekend's action in Serie A, a pause to remember Giorgio Chinaglia – who passed away in Florida on Sunday following a heart attack. A powerful, brilliant centre-forward for Lazio and then the New York Cosmos, Chinaglia was certainly a divisive figure: one still remembered by many for his expletive-laden rant at the then Italy manager Ferruccio Valcareggi when substituted against Haiti at the 1974 World Cup – the first such tournament to be broadcast on colour TV in the peninsula.

Off the field Chinaglia drew opprobrium after he expressed support for the fascist politician Giorgio Almirante, and he made further enemies during an ill-fated stint as the president of Lazio after his playing career had come to an end – receiving an eight-month ban at one point after attacking a referee with an umbrella. But he also made many friends along the way – his capacity for confrontation matched by a warmth and a wit that could be just as powerful.

His was an extraordinary life, one worthy of many thousand more words than I can give here (several autobiographies have already been written). So instead I will leave it there, with a simple farewell to one of the most fascinating characters ever to grace the Italian game.

Talking points

• Inter's supporters might have been celebrating this weekend, but there were still pointed words for the owner Moratti in a banner displayed by the crowd. "President, we have understood that you're good at firing coaches. But when will you do the same with all your sycophants and servants?"

• Juventus matched their all-time record unbeaten streak with their 3-0 rout of Napoli on Sunday night – their run of 30 league games without defeat matching that achieved between the end of the 2005-06 season and the beginning of 2006-07 (though the latter, of course, was spent in Serie B). From a symbolic standpoint, this was quite a statement. Napoli had come closer than any other side to ending Antonio Conte's unbeaten start when they led 3-1 at the San Paolo during the first meeting between these two teams back in November, before pulling back to draw 3-3. This time they did not even allow Walter Mazzarri's side a shot on target.

• That is a mark on Napoli as well, of course, and the failure of the much heralded trident of Edinson Cavani, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marek Hamsik certainly did not go unnoticed – with some reporters even going so far as to ask Mazzarri whether the time had come for one of them to be dropped in favour of Goran Pandev. "We'll see," said the manager. "He is looking better than the others but it is hard to drop Cavani or Lavezzi."

• The race for the last Champions League spot has slowed to something below walking pace as Lazio, Napoli and Lazio all lost again, those teams having picked up a total of two wins between them over the last four rounds of fixtures. All of which has allowed Roma to drag themselves back into the picture, moving to within four points of third-placed Lazio after their 5-2 win over Novara. "Who do I fear most in the race for third?" mused Luis Enrique. "Roma, clearly." He was joking, of course, but given his team's manic inconsistency of performance this season, there might also have been a grain of truth.

• At long last, Palermo's away drought comes to an end – the Rosanero beating Bologna 3-1 to claim their first win outside of the Stadio Renzo Barbera this season. At home they have collected 31 points out of a possible 45 this season. On the road, they now have eight.